Parkland: New Trailer & New Take on JFK Assassination

We all know the chaotic day of November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was shot in his motorcade. The new film Parkland looks to add, instead of retread, the knowledge most already have on the events, and by the looks of the trailer, it does just that. The film recounts the memorable day from multiple perspectives, including the hospital that the President was rushed to, for which the title is taken from.

The film is the directorial debut of Peter Landesman and stars an ensemble cast of familiar faces including Zac Efron (High School Musical), Paul Giamatti (Sideways), Billy Bob Thornton (Armageddon), Tom Welling (Smallville), and Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook). The films look to be a unique take on an infamous day that could bring about a new perspective. Check out the trailer:

Parkland weaves multiple stories into its narrative in a Crash-esque way, but centered around the assassination of JFK. The plot includes the hospital the president was rushed to, the man behind the Zapruder film , the FBI agents responsible for tracking down Lee Harvey Oswald, the brother of Oswald, and the Presidents security detail trying to piece their stories together. All in all, the trailer didn’t quite sell me because of the somewhat overly dramatic tone it carries as it leads up to the moment we know is coming, but as it puts it, “The story you know/the people you don’t”, The cast is pretty solid, so hopefully they don’t go to waste, and the film is capable of bypassing the common flaw in these ensemble pics, which is to balance the pacing of each story. Oh yeah, and it can’t hurt that Tom Hanks is a producer.

The film is due out September 20th, two days before the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination.

The Return of Smallville… Via Comic Book!

Smallville may be over, but DC Comics is giving the loyal fans of the loosely based Superman show a little somethin’ somethin’ in the form of a Smallville comic book! According to IGN, the comic will be released in small parts throughout April digitally and then in a full comic book in May. And for those of you who initially worried like I did that it would take place in between all of the Smallville episodes, have no fear. The comic will take place after the show ended and after Clark finally donned the Super suit!

“Six months after Clark Kent donned the cape and took to the skies to save Earth from Apokolips… enter Season 11!” explains Miller. “New allies abound! New enemies afoot! And old friends return where they’re least expected! Pere and colorist Chris Beckett have done a fantastic job of capturing the look of the show and the players, and Gary and Cat are knocking it out of the park on covers. I couldn’t be more excited to help give seasoned viewers and new readers an all-access pass to Clark’s first year in the cape.” 

The announcement confirmed that alongside Clark will be show regulars Oliver Queen, Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane, and even Lex Luthor. 

I guess if I have to see Michael Rosenbaum Lex Luthor in comic book form then that will suffice. But really, I can’t wait to see what they do with new villains from the Superman world and possibly even bringing back old ones. I for sure was not overly impressed with the fight against Doomsday because it was like watching a Mike Tyson fight on pay per view. But in comics as with animation, they can pretty much do whatever they want.

I’ll be very interested to see how everything has played out since the show has ended. How is Lex after his memory of knowing Clark was pretty much erased? What about the other twenty people who know Clark’s secret identity and didn’t have a memory wipe? I’m ready and waiting for this comic to come out in the next couple of months because Smallville is like Star Wars to me; I don’t want it to end even though it’s not quite what it used to be. Though this comic does have some potential to be pretty damned good. It will almost be like an Elseworlds comic or Superman: Earth One. What about the rest of the Smallville faithful? Good news or should Smallville just die a natural death? Let it be known in the comment section below!